Disk cartridge assembly

Abstract

A disk cartridge assembly includes a rotatable magnetic disk enclosed within a rectangular cartridge. Attached to the top and bottom covers of the cartridge are a plurality of leaf springs which urge the top and bottom sections toward and against one another. Resilient cloth liners are mounted to the inside surfaces of the top and bottom covers. As the leaf springs urge these sections toward one another, the liners engage the disk surface to prevent the disk from moving freely within the cartridge. The leaf springs are flexible in the axial direction but rigid in the radial direction, thus to maintain the top and bottom sections in alignment with one another.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An information storage apparatus including: an information storage medium and a housing enclosing said medium, said housing including first and second housing sections opposed to one another, and a connecting means for maintaining said housing sections in an axial alignment with one another and for urging said housing sections toward one another in the axial direction to a closed position;   a retaining means comprising a first lining means at the inside surface of said first housing section and a second lining means at the inside surface of said second housing section, said first and second lining means engaging the medium at opposite sides thereof over a substantial portion of the medium surface area whenever the housing is in the closed position, and thereby substantially preventing any movement of the medium with respect to the housing;   said connecting means being flexible in the axial direction to permit movement of said sections axially away from one another to disengage said retaining means from said storage medium and permit movement of said medium with respect to the housing.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said information storage medium comprises a rotatable magnetic disk. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said first and second lining means comprise respectively a first resilient liner attached to said first section, and a second resilient liner attached to said second section, said liners at least slightly compressed from their normal configuration when said housing is closed. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: said first and second liners are constructed of a non-woven cloth. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said connecting means include a plurality of elongate leaf springs, each connected at one end to said first housing section and at its other end to said second housing section; and said leaf springs are pre-biased to continually urge said first and second sections toward one another. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein: said housing is rectangular and said plurality of leaf springs comprise two pairs of leaf springs, one pair proximate each of two opposed edges of said housing and parallel to said edges. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein: one end of each leaf spring is fixed to one of said sections, and the opposite end of each leaf spring is slideably engaged with respect to the other of said housing sections. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of claim 7 including: means defining a plurality of channels and a plurality of pockets in said other housing section, one pocket associated with each channel, for receiving and positioning said opposite ends of said leaf springs, each pocket open to its associated channel through a window having a height and width slightly greater than the thickness and width of its associated leaf spring so as to substantially limit said spring to sliding movement relative to said window. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein: said housing is square and said plurality of elongate leaf springs comprise four leaf spring assemblies, one assembly at each corner of the housing and directed diagonally inward thereof. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein: each leaf spring assembly includes two leaf springs adjacent one another and slideable with respect to one another over at least a portion of their contiguous surface area. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein: one end of each leaf spring assembly is fixed to one of said housing sections and the opposite end of each leaf spring assembly is slideably engaged with respect to the other of said housing sections. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of claim 11 including: a plurality of guides mounted to said other housing section, one guide associated with each leaf spring assembly, each guide cooperating with the inside surface of said other housing section to define a slot through which said opposite end of its associated leaf spring assembly is received, the height and width of said slot being slightly greater than the thickness and width of the associated leaf spring assembly. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second lining means are sized such that each engages its respective medium side over substantially all of the surface thereof.